The present invention relates to suspension control of a surface supported vehicle and more particularly to a means of controlling the lateral stability of the sprung portion of a vehicle.
It has been a continuing problem to provide lateral stability to a vehicle particularly a surface supported vehicle, as for example, a truck having a large body structure for transporting heavy loads a great distance where the center of gravity of the loads are high providing a certain degree of unstability when cornering or encountering uneven side loading from wind and the like. In recent years, it has become very important to improve the stability of large pleasure vehicles, such as, house cars, motor homes, trailers, pickup mounted campers and the like. It is particularly important to improve the lateral stability of pleasure vehicles for passenger safety and to compensate for the inexperience of occasional operators of these vehicles.
Generally improvements in lateral stability have been accomplished by increasing the stiffness of the suspension medium. This solution increases the weight of the vehicle and provides a hard ride to the passengers riding therein.
Front mounted body to camper shock absorbers have met with limited success. They help in removing the vertical bounce or up and down motion between the truck and camper unit; however, they are but a minimum aid in improving lateral stability.
A device that would provide a vehicle with substantially complete lateral control, is light in weight, inexpensive to construct and free from maintenance would be highly desirable and find a waiting market.
The present invention is effective in controlling the lateral stability of any vehicle having a sprung and unsprung portion.